I am new to BSD and look foward to learning. I have read the man pages for pkg_add think i have a handle on how it works. my problem is i am unable to install a package from a usb drive. i have a dell laptop that uses the ipw-firmware and it is located on my flashdrive. i have created a /mnt/flashdrive dir and mounted /dev/sd0i to this directory. i then cd to that directory and can see the package. i then changed the PKG_PATH directory to /mnt/flashdrive by executing this command export PKG_PATH=/mnt/flashdrive/ i then execute this command pkg_add /mnt/flashdrive ipw-firmware-1.3p0.gz to no avail. I don't expect to be spoon fed the answer but i have searched using google and the forums. any help would be much appreciated. i have heard (read) a lot of openbsd development is done on laptops. it would be nice to have wireless working on this laptop. i would trully feel a bit "geeky" in a good way. thank you in advance.....

The filename you saved on your memory stick is named ipw-firmware-1.3p0.tgz, not ipw-firmware-1.3.p0.gz.

".tgz" is a shorted use of ".tar.gz".

The pkg_add program will append ".tgz" and look for any release/patch levels to the file name you specify, if the name you specify does not include them. Note my example, above, where I just used "ipw-firmware" without additional information.

When you issue "pkg_add ipw-firmware-1.3.p0.gz", pkg_add looks for a file named "ipw-firmware-1.3.p0.gz.*.tgz" -- which does not exist.

not trying to argue but the package does end in .gz and not .tgz here is a link to the package. I may not understand (probably don't since this is my first day using openbsd) but none the less here is the link. http://damien.bergamini.free.fr/pack...ware-1.3p0.tgz
as you can see it does say .tgz but when you download it, it is appended with a .gz. what am i missing??

i really don't like to argue, and in fact consider myself quite the wimp. i did state in my previous comment that the link would indicate that in fact the file was .tgz file, but if you actually click on the link you would see quite the contrary. please click on the link, and tell me what the package name would be saved as, if nothing was changed.

I guess I have some more reading to do. I do apologize if I somehow seemed confrontational, not my intent. I may even be a bit dense. Which would explain why I need you to explain it to me like I was a 5 year old? I will give what you suggest a try and get back to you. Thank a lot for taking the time to assist me in this endeavor. Like I said before, I am willing to learn and fully expect a few bumps and bruises along the way.

Thanks jggimi for that thorough explanation as to what is exactly happening. You are correct in assuming that i had downloaded the file using ie7. i will fix the problem using the solution you suggested. I will mark this as solved.

No worries. But a web browser thinking it knows better for filenames? That was a first, for me. Sorry about that.

I have the feeling that most people considering OpenBSD are either coming from non-Microsoft operating systems, or have already switched web browsers if not. (It's also possible that those who use IE7 notice the filename mangling and corrected it, or renamed the file(s) afterwards.)

Yes. It's the same OS. The main differences are a kernel configured to use cd0 as the root partition, and a modified rc(8) script to mount read/write information in memory (MFS) file systems. The ipw package installs in /etc/firmware, and /etc is one of the six MFS filesystems.

i changed the extension to the above mentioned and as is well. i will have wireless up in running very shortly, hopefully. is there any pitfalls i shoud be aware of? or, are you going to let me make some mistakes then come crawling back with my tail between my legs asking for help after the fact.

ok, i have thoroughly read ipw(4),ifconfig(8) and hostname.if(5). I then created an /etc/hostname.ipw0 file and populated it with the following -
dhcp NONE NONE NONE nwkey 0x********** chan 11. Upon reboot dhcp tries to secure and address but eventually times out. ifconfig does show my wireless nic, but i am not certain if i have to agree to the firmware in some fashion or another before it will bring it up???? even after reading the manpage for ifconfig (8) not certain on how to bring the nic up manually. my tail is between my legs guys. just point me in the right direction and i should be able to find my way.

when i run dmesg | grep ipw, i can see my nic and then when i run ifconfig ipw0 i get status: no network

sorry, i am unable to post the output due to the fact i can't get online with the laptop. i have visited damin's website and followed his instructions to the letter. by the way, how do i scan for available ap's?

ifconfig does show me wired and wireless options. i'm certain i am close but may have to dig a little deeper.